Why the Involvement of the ECJ May Become a Stumbling Block
On 19 March 2017 the UK delivered its notice to leave the European Union (EU) pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Such notice started the two-year “sunset period”, at the end of which the UK will cease to be a member state of the EU (subject to potentially three exemptions). View Full Post

The UK’s triggering of Article 50 on 29 March 2017 means that it will officially cease to be a member of the European Union on 30 March 2019. As this deadline approaches rapidly, there are a multitude of issues to be resolved and legislative tangles to be unscrambled. View Full Post

More than a year has passed since the UK voted to withdraw from the European Union without much clarity ever given to businesses on what the terms of the intra-EU trade with the remaining EU27 would look like post-March 2019. This has led to many of our clients planning for the worst possible option, i.e. View Full Post

This article was originally posted on our sister blog Inside Medical Devices
The EU Regulatory Committee on Medical Devices recently voted in favor of the European Commission’s draft decision on the classification of cranberry products (the “Cranberry Decision”). In essence, the Cranberry Decision provides that cranberry products intended to prevent or treat cystitis and that have a principal intended action based on proanthocyanidins (“PACs”) do not fall within the definition of medical devices. View Full Post

At a European council summit dinner last night, Theresa May outlined the UK’s offer to secure the rights of EU citizens in the UK. The key points have been reported as follow:
EU citizens with 5 years’ residence in the UK before a cut-off point (expected to be no later than Brexit day) will be eligible for a ‘settled status’ category allowing the same rights to education, healthcare, pensions and benefits as other UK citizens. View Full Post

It is fair to say, this is not the result that many were expecting.
Theresa May’s Conservatives, who anticipated an increased number of seats throughout the General Election campaign, find themselves the largest party in Parliament, but without an overall majority. View Full Post

Clash of Philosophies: There is a potentially irreconcilable clash of constitutional philosophies between the UK and the EU which results in certain “no go” areas on the EU side for the forthcoming Brexit negotiations…2) Perspective of the EU27: The EU27’s approach is driven by the perception that the European Union is not merely representative of a negotiable bundle of international trade treaties but is a supranational entity based on and subject to a constitution created by the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). View Full Post

On 19 April 2017, the day after the UK Prime Minister’s surprise General Election announcement, the Red Tape Initiative (RTI) was quietly launched in Westminster.
Established by Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin MP, who was in overall charge of the Cabinet Office until July 2016 and briefly head of the Brexit Unit after the Referendum, the RTI is a non-partisan project, bringing together “all three major UK-wide political parties to forge a consensus on the regulatory changes that could benefit both businesses and their employees in a post-Brexit Britain”. View Full Post

The EU pharmaceutical industry landscape is in significant flux. There are many pressures to provide new therapies and to make them available more early and for as many qualifying patients as possible. In that context, the industry model and the role of exclusivity rights as a tool to stimulate innovation are being discussed. View Full Post